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<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –> The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday backed Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad?s statement that Rahul Gandhi’s observations against RSS are a ‘political cry’ and said that the Congress party has no positive agenda for the nation. BJP leader Sudesh Verma said that all the parties which have ganged up against the BJP are casteist and corrupt forces who want to save their skin. ?This is like ganging up of casteist and corrupt forces. They don?t have any positive agenda for the country. They want to save their skin. Because, when they were in power they have looted the country. We are sure that people of the country know the truth. And, we are very confident that these rejected forces will be rejected once and for all,? said Verma. Gandhi on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi?s party’s ideological parent RSS follows “a divisive agenda? and wants to ?change the Indian Constitution?. While addressing Rahul the ‘Sanjhi Virasat Bachao’ (save composite culture) event here, Rahul accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi Government of imposing RSS ideology in every institution of the country. Prasad yesterday hit back at Congress Gandhi for cornering the Central Government and said his statements are more of a political cry, arising out of a deep sense of dismay. He further said that Narendra Modi-led government fully respects the independence of judiciary and fully upholds the independence of the media. Prasad also said that it is clear from Rahul’s comment that he does not deliver speeches, but only takes out his frustration. Rahul had also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi by alleging that the Prime Minister Modi sells lies to the public. While taking a jibe at Prime Minister Modi’s Make in India initiative, Gandhi said, “Modi ji gave ‘Make In India’, but I mainly find things that are ‘Made in China’. Truth is that Modi Ji’s Make In India has failed.” Rahul Gandhi was joined by several other Opposition leaders for the programme. Veteran Janata Dal (United) ?JD (U)- leader Sharad Yadav organised the ‘ Sanjhi Virasat Bachao’ event. . Top leaders of the Congress, the Left, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and other parties opposed to the BJP attended the programme which is being seen as Yadav’s show of strength against his party chief Nitish Kumar’s decision to ally with the BJP.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Supporting the decision to probe into the death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday said the move was necessary.BJP leader S Prakash said that the secrecy which was maintained during former Jayalalithaa’s treatment brewed suspicion and propelled the demand for investigation.He said that his party hopes that the investigation in the regard is completed soon, as that will fulfill the demand of Amma’s supporters and sympathisers.”This has been the demand of many of sympathisers and supporters of late Jayalalithaa ji. They had suspected foul in her death. Many were kept away when she was admitted in the hospital and the medical reports were not accessible to anyone other than Sasikala. It is for this reason the demand for judicial probe had gained momentum. I hope that the probe committee completes the investigation swiftly,” said Prakash.Sasikala, a long-time friend of late Jayalalithaa, decided she should become Chief Minister herself. But, her plans collapsed when she was convicted by the Supreme Court for corruption and sentenced to jail for four years.Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami has ordered a judicial probe into the Jayalalithaa’s death.On Thursday, Palaniswami announced in a hurriedly convened press conference in Chennai that “Commission will be constituted under a retired judge to probe death of Amma (J Jayalalithaa)”.Palaniswami stated that the probe into Jaya’s death had been one of the key demands of the O Panneerselvam faction of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) for its planned merger with the EPS grouping.However, Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa Jayakumar yesterday asserted that there is no point setting up an inquiry commission to probe the death of the former and requested the Centre to constitute a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry on the same.”I don’t find any point of setting up this of this inquiry commission. I would request the Centre to order a CBI inquiry in this issue. Otherwise, it will just be an eye-wash,” Deepa said.The Apollo Hospital of Tamil Nadu, where Jayalalithaa died, backed state government’s decision, saying that it is a good move.The Chief Minister also announced that Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa, Veda Nilayam, will be turned into a museum.”Her (Jayalalithaa) Poes Garden residence in Chennai will be made into a memorial,” said Palaniswami said.Jayalalithaa led the AIADMK till she died on December 5, 2016 after being months in hospital.

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –> Punjab Police has managed to procure two-day transit remand of two Babbar Khalsa men from a Lucknow court. Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Thursday produced Jaswant Singh alias Kala and Balwant Singh before Chief Judicial Magistrate Mrs Sandhya Srivastava. Punjab Police?s Inspector Harendra Pal Singh sought the transit remand of Jaswant and Balwant by citing FIRs registered against them and Chief Judicial Magistrate Mrs Sandhya Srivastava granted transit remand of the duo valid till August 19, 2017. According to Punjab Police, accused in 2016 Dera follower Lakkha Baba murder case Aman and Gopi had acknowledged Jaswant Singh?s key role in the murder. ?In 2016, Jaswant Singh had got Dera follower Gurudev Singh murdered and a case in this regard has been registered at Bajakhana police station in Faridkot, Punjab. Balwant Singh used to supply arms and ammunition to Jaswant Singh,? said Punjab Police. It further added that Jaswant was also lodged in Delhi?s Tihar Jail in arms case.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –> The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday said that National Conference (NC) supremo Farooq Abdullah should refrain from making irresponsible comments. The BJP?s statement came after Adbullah on Thursday alleged that country was not facing threat from foreign forces and the forces operating inside the nation were more dangerous. BJP leader S. Prakash said that Abdullah should clarify his comments and should not brew any confusion. ?Farooq Abdullah should clarify his stand. Such statements will create unwanted confusion. As a senior politician he should act more responsibly,? said Prakash. Addressing the ‘Sanjhi Virasat Bachao’ programme, Abdullah said, “Any outside source doesn’t pose any threat to India, as those dwelling inside the nation are even more dangerous. China cannot do anything to us, Pakistan cannot do anything to us, it is the thief sitting inside the country that is ruining the nation and dividing all of us.”(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –> The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday said that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is making statements against the saffron outfit and its ideologue Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) because he is not able to digest the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJP leader GVL Narsimha Rao said that the Gandhi scion?s comments reek of dynastic arrogance, and are aimed at seeking media attention. ?Rahul Gandhi is unable to digest the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His comments reek of dynastic arrogance. His understanding of politics and governance is pathetic. And on top of it, he engages into such commentary to gain only media attention. Such comments are lowering his prospects further,? said Rao. Another BJP leader S. Prakash slammed Gandhi for targeting RSS and said that the Congress leader should read the history of the RSS before making any comment against the organisation. ?Rahul Gandhi does not know about patriotism and the sacrifices made by the RSS. Rahul Gandhi needs to understand and read the history before he make reckless comments,? said Prakash. Gandhi on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi?s party’s ideological parent RSS follows “a divisive agenda? and wants to ?change the Indian Constitution?. While addressing Rahul the ‘Sanjhi Virasat Bachao’ (save composite culture) event here, Rahul accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi Government of imposing RSS ideology in every institution of the country. Alleging that Prime Minister Modi sells lies to the public, Rahul said the Opposition must fight together to defeat the BJP. While taking a jibe at Prime Minister Modi’s Make in India initiative, Gandhi said, “Modi ji gave ‘Make In India’, but I mainly find things that are ‘Made in China’. Truth is that Modi Ji’s Make In India has failed.” Rahul Gandhi was joined by several other Opposition leaders for the programme. Veteran Janata Dal (United) ?JD (U)- leader Sharad Yadav organised the ‘ Sanjhi Virasat Bachao’ event. . Top leaders of the Congress, the Left, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and other parties opposed to the BJP attended the programme which is being seen as Yadav’s show of strength against his party chief Nitish Kumar’s decision to ally with the BJP. ( ANI ) Ends MM/HB NNNN ANI(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –> Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court will today hear the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in regard with the Gorakhpur tragedy in which at least 30 kids died in 48 hours at Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College’s Nehru Hospital on August 10 and 11. Activist and advocate Dr Nutan Thakur said that PIL will be heard before the bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Daya Shankar Tiwari. Thakur further said the PIL asserts that the State government and its agencies have been trying to defend the entire incident by negating the facts emerging in media about deaths taking place due to oxygen failure, which gives a message that they are trying to hide facts and shield certain guilty persons. The PIL seeks judicial enquiry in the matter so that the true facts emerge and guilty do not remain unpunished. The PIL also prays for issuing directions to the State government so that such incidents do not happen again. The PIL further seeks complete enforcement of previous High Court order about complete ban of private practice by government doctors.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –> Union Minister Maneka Gandhi on Thursday sought External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj?s help in bringing back a 16-year-old Hyderabad girl to India, who was tricked into marrying a 75-year-old man from Oman for Rs. 5 lakh. Gandhi took to Twitter and expressed grief on the incident asserting, ?Have asked the Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, to investigate the case and identify the persons who forced this illegal marriage?. The Union Minister further took to microblogging site and stated, ?I would request @SushmaSwaraj to intervene and bring the girl back to India from Oman?. Maneka Gandhi has also asked the Hyderabad?s Commissioner of Police to investigate the case and identify the persons who forced this illegal marriage. She has directed the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to contact the family members of the victim girl. Replying to Gandhi?s tweet, the Indian Embassy in Oman had sought more details about the accused Omani national to take up with Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A 16-year-old schoolgirl from Hyderabad was reportedly married off to a 75-year-old Sheikh from Oman three months ago for a sum of Rs. 5 lakh. Yesterday, the photos of the wedding were handed over to the police by the girl’s parents. The teenage girl’s mother accused her sister-in-law and sister-in-law’s husband of having committed the crime for a sum of Rs 5 lakh. She pleaded with the police to help her bring back her daughter from Muscat. The mother of the girl said that her daughter cried every time she spoke to her over the phone and told her that she wanted to return home soon as possible. ?I spoke directly with the Omani national who married my daughter. He is saying that he paid Rs. 5 lakhs to Sikander (brother-in-law) and his wife and purchased my daughter and wants that money back, then only he will send back my daughter,” the woman said in her complaint.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –> Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday said that he had a meeting with all the concerned department of the Government of India to find a solution to problems of flood and erosion situation in the state. ?Today we had a meeting regarding the flood and erosion problem in Assam. The state is going through a very difficult period. With the support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we will able to give the best support to the affected people throughout the state,? he told ANI here. He said Prime Minister Modi has already announced relief package to conduct study and research related to the problem of floods and prepare a comprehensive report and the meeting was just to review the progress of the same. ?To meet that particular objective, we had the meeting with all the concerned department. We are giving all possible support food grain, medical support,? he said. The death toll in Assam flood has crossed 100. The situation is so grim in the affected regions that it had rendered lakhs of people homeless and has forced them to land up in relief camps. The floods have affected the train services, damaged crops, left thousand stranded in states and has seized normalcy completely. Most of the forest areas in Kaziranga National Park, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Lawkhua wildlife sanctuary are submerged under water.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –> The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Thursday approved the procurement of six US-made Apache-64E helicopters at a cost of Rs. 4,168 crore for the Indian Army. The Defence Ministry stated, ?The Indian Army would be provided with 6 Apache choppers, costing Rs 4,186 crores?. Earlier in the day, the DAC, headed by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, gave the green light to the procurement of attack helicopters. The move came amid the demands raised from the defence quarters to upgrade the incumbent arsenal of the Indian Air Force. The six ‘AH-64-E’ helicopters will come along with associated equipment, spares and weapons system. The AH-64-E choppers are known as one of the most advanced multi-role combat helicopters which have advanced weapons systems and night-fighting features. The combat choppers were part of Army?s wishlist over a period of time, with the initial pitch for procurement made back in 2015. The contract signed three years ago included the order of 22 Apache helicopters, along with 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers in 2015. The deal was inked at 3.1 billion dollars. After the government, finalised the deal for 22 Apache helicopters for the Indian Air Force, the Army had been pushing for follow on orders of 11 choppers for it, arguing that the ground forces need them considering the changing security scenario in the region. However, the IAF as not in favour of the Army’s proposal. Till now, the Army does not have any attack helicopter. The Rs. 4,168 crore deal will also include cost of weapons, ammunition, spares and associate equipment and training.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –> Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday recommended Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe into Bhagalpur Srijan scam. The Chief Minister had earlier asked the state chief secretary to hand over the entire matter, related to fraudulent withdrawal of government funds, to the CBI. Earlier in the day, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav accused Nitish Kumar of ‘murdering democracy’ in Bihar. The statement had come after the Bihar Government denied permission to former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav to hold a public meeting in Bhagalpur. Lalu further took a dig at Nitish over his ‘zero policy’ on corruption, demanding that the accused in Srijan scam should be put behind the bars. Tejashwi was to hold a public meeting in Bhagalpur, where he was expected to target Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar for their involvement in the Srjan scam. He took to Twitter and wrote, “I was supposed to address a meeting in Bhagalpur, but the local administration as imposed Section 144 in Sabour block where the meeting was planned” A special investigation team (SIT) of the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) has been inquiring the scam. According to reports, the public money, which was kept in the state government and the district administration bank accounts, had been diverted to the bank accounts of a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Srijan, its employees and bank officials. The NGO was founded by Manorama Devi and is being run by her son and his wife after her death. According to sources, an audit team of the finance department has already been sent to Bhagalpur. Meanwhile, three FIRs have already been registered at the Bhagalpur Kotwali Police Station against the accused.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>A Class 12 student of the Kendriya Vidyalaya in Gole Market today died after he allegedly became unconscious and fell during the school’s morning assembly, the police said. The deceased, Sonu (17), belonged to Bihar, and was staying with his family at the Railway Colony in Kishanganj, they said. Prima facie, no foul play is suspected in the incident, the police said. The police said that the boy lost consciousness and fell during the assembly. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, they said. After being informed, a team rushed to the spot and started investigations, the police said, adding that the post mortem report is awaited. His family claimed that he did not have any health issues and was completely fit, they added.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>A case has been registered against three unidentified men for allegedly killing a stray dog by throwing stones at it in south Delhi’s Vasant Vihar, the police said today. The men allegedly killed the dog by throwing stones at it on August 15 and then tried to hide its body in a bylane, they said. The whole incident was captured in a CCTV camera installed at a house nearby, the police said. A case was registered in this regard and the locals are being questioned to ascertain the identity of the three men, they said.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>A 35-year-old man lay injured on the road for nearly 14 hours, without any help, after being hit by an unidentified vehicle in north Delhi’s Civil Lines on Independence Day, the police said today. The victim, Narendra, had arrived from Jaipur and was waiting for a bus to go to his hometown Bijnor when the accident happened. He sustained injuries to his backbone and was not able to move. He was lying on the road for close to 14 hours but no one helped him, police said, adding, rather than helping him, a man snatched away his money. The next morning, a police Gypsy found him lying near the roadside and rushed him to a hospital, they added. Police have registered an FIR and are probing the matter.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Central Coalfields Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, today intensified search operation in the Barka-Sayal underground mine to trace two workers trapped after water gushed into the mine on Wednesday. CCL Chairman-cum-Managing Director Gopal Singh, Director Personnel R S Mahapatra, Director Technical and Operation Subir Chandra, and Director General of Mines Safety Mihir Chaudhary visited underground mine of Barka-Sayal area in Ramgarh district and ordered to intensify search operation for safe recovery of the missing miners, an official of Barka-Sayal mine area said. As many as six workers were in the coal mine during the incident. While Saheb Mahto, Deep Narayan Singh, Jitan Ram Bedia and Shiv Pujan-escaped, two miners – Ashok Kumar and Parvez Monia were reportedly trapped inside, sources said. Ajay Sen, officiating General Manager of Barka-Sayal area told(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Senior RSS leader Manmohan Vaidya today said Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi did not know anything about the Sangh, whose members did take part in the freedom struggle. “Rahul Gandhi does not know the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, nor has he tried to understand the Sangh. He does not even know the history of India,” Vaidya said here. “However, the society is coming with the RSS and the RSS is growing continously….their (Congress’) base is shrinking,” Vaidya said. “Talking about one’s forefathers’ achievements to hide one’s own failures is considered bad form in our society,” he said, in an apparent dig at the Congress leader. Speaking at a meeting of opposition parties in Delhi, hosted by rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, Gandhi today alleged that the RSS was trying to plant its people in every institution. “Till the time RSS did not rule India, they never saluted the national flag… You can look at this nation in two ways. One says this country is mine, other says I belong to the country. That’s the difference between RSS and us,” the Congress vice president said. On a common refrain of the Sangh’s critics that it did not participate in the freedom struggle, Vaidya said, “Dr Hedgewar (RSS founder K B Hedgewar) had participated in two of the three ‘Satyagrahas’ launched by Mahatma Gandhi. Dr Hedgewar participated in a Satyagraha before the formation of RSS, and in another Satyagraha afterwards. “He had participated individually and not as RSS leader,” Vaidya said, claiming further that many RSS volunteers took part in the freedom struggle, and were “hanged, shot or jailed”. “RSS did not participate in the freedom struggle directly but its swayamsevaks (volunteers) participated in it,” he said.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government has registered a case in connection with alleged irregularities in procurement of medical equipment at Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital here, an official said today. According to an ACB official, 15 government officials have been named in the FIR. ACB chief Mukesh Kumar Meena confirmed that a case has been registered on August 10 and the matter was under investigation, but refused to divulge further details. The Anti-Corruption Branch has also submitted a status report to the Delhi High Court in the matter, another official said.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>A Class 12 student of the Kendriya Vidyalaya in Gole Market today died after he allegedly became unconscious and fell during the school’s morning assembly, the police said. The deceased, Sonu (17), belonged to Bihar, and was staying with his family at the Railway Colony in Kishanganj, they said. Prima facie, no foul play is suspected in the incident, the police said. The police said that the boy lost consciousness and fell during the assembly. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, they said. After being informed, a team rushed to the spot and started investigations, the police said, adding that the post mortem report is awaited. His family claimed that he did not have any health issues and was completely fit, they added.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Sony Entertainment Television today said the daily soap ‘Pehredaar Piya Ki’ will be shifted to the 10 pm slot from August 22, as per the directive issued by BCCC, the self-regulatory body for TV. Yesterday, the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) had directed the channel to move its controversial show from 8.30 pm to the 10 pm slot so that minors do not watch it. The council had also asked the channel to run it with a scroll saying it does not promote child marriage. The serial, which began airing last month, focuses on a nine-year-old boy, Ratan (Afaan Khan), and his marriage to 18 -year-old Diya (Tejasswi Prakash). In a statement released today, the channel said it would comply with the order. “As per the decision of BCCC we are shifting the time slot of Pehredaar Piya Ki to 10 pm. The change will reflect from August 22 onwards,” said an official statement from the channel. The channel also said that the scroll would also be run during the course of the show. The show is also going to witness a time leap of 12 years in the coming months where it will depict the woman aged around 30 and the child as a grown-up aged around 21.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Late chief minister Jayalalithaa’s niece J Deepa today opposed the Tamil Nadu government’s plans to convert her aunt’s residence here into a memorial, saying she would take legal steps against it. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister K Palaniswami announced that his government would appoint a commission of inquiry to probe the death of Jayalalithaa and convert her Veda Nilayam residence into a memorial. Deepa said she has the “moral and legal rights” to stake claim to the Poes Garden property and termed the announcement by the chief minister a “drama” while alleging that there was some motive behind it. “We were not consulted on converting it (the residence) into a memorial. We will take legal action against it (the government plans),” Deepa told reporters here. She had taken the political plunge months after her aunt’s demise and had launched the MGR Amma Deepa Peravai on February 24, the birth anniversary of Jayalalithaa. Deepa had filed her nomination for the April 12 byelection to R K Nagar Assembly seat, which was previously held by Jayalalithaa. The bypoll was later rescinded by the Election Commission following alleged use of money power.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>An activist of ‘People s Liberation Front of India’ (PLFI) was injured in a encounter with security personnel in Kudpani Pattipahi jungle in Thetaitanger block of Simdega district today, police said. The injured ultra activist was rushed to Simdega Sadar Hospital, Superintendent of Police Rajeev Ranjan Singh said. The activist, identified as Roshing Bhengra is a resident of adjoining Khunti district, Singh said. He said that four to five other ultras managed to escape. He also claimed that they were also injured during the encounter. Led by Additional Superintendent of Police, Nirmal Gope, CRPF security personnel and district armed police recovered three firearms from the spot.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Corporate houses have donated a total of Rs 956.77 crore to national parties between 2012-13 and 2015-16,constituting 89 per cent of the total contribution from known sources, with BJP receiving the maximum Rs 705.81 crore, says a report.Among the national parties, BJP received the maximum donations of Rs 705.81 crore from 2,987 corporate donors followed by INC (Indian National Congress) which received Rs 198.16 crore from 167 corporate donors, the report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said today, citing filings of political parties made to the Election Commission.NCP received Rs 50.73 crore, followed by CPM (Rs 1.89 crore) and CPI (Rs 0.18 crore).BSP was not considered for analysis in the report as the party has declared that it received no voluntary contributions above Rs 20,000 from any donor between 2012-13 and 2015-16.”Between 2012-13 and 2015-16, five national parties received a total of Rs 1,070.68 crore via voluntary contributions above Rs 20,000 out of which 89 per cent of Rs 956.77 crore was from corporates/business houses,” ADR said.According to an earlier report by ADR, various business houses donated a total of Rs 378.89 crore to national parties, constituting 87 per cent of the total contribution from known sources in eight years, between financial years 2004-05 and 2011-12.Political parties are required to submit details of donors who have made donations above Rs 20,000 in a financial year to the Election Commission of India, every year.Between 2012-13 and 2015-16, BJP’s and INC’s voluntary contributions above Rs 20,000 from corporate/business houses was 92 per cent and 85 per cent, respectively, the report said.CPI and CPM have the lowest share of corporate donations at 4 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively.National parties received the maximum corporate donations in 2014-15, during which Lok Sabha elections were held, the report by the Delhi-based ADR said.Corporate donations received in 2014-15 alone form 60 per cent of the total corporate donations received between 2012-13 and 2015-16, it added.It further said that donations from corporates to national parties reduced by 86.58 per cent between 2014-15 and 2015-16.”Despite not donating during 2012-13, Satya Electoral Trust was the top donor to three of the national parties, between 2012-13 and 2015-16. The Trust donated a total of 35 number of times in 3 years, amounting to Rs 260.87 crore” ADR said.BJP declared receiving Rs 193.62 crore while INC was the recipient of Rs 57.25 crore of funds from the Trust.General Electoral Trust, which was formed before the Electoral Trust Scheme was launched by the government in 2013, was the second highest corporate donor to BJP and INC. Between 2012-13 and 2015-16, the Trust donated Rs 70.7 crore and Rs 54.1 crore to the two national parties, respectively, ADR said.The top donors to the Communist parties were ‘Associations’ or ‘Unions’. CPI received a total of Rs 14.64 lakh from 15 different associations/unions while CPM received a total of Rs 1.09 crore from seven different associations.Contributions from corporate/business houses have been divided into 14 sectors by ADR and does not form a part of the submission made by parties to ECI. The sectors include Trusts and group of companies, manufacturing, oil and power, mining, construction, exports/imports, real estate, among others.Real estate sector was the biggest donor to the national parties during 2012-13, contributing Rs 16.95 crore.Trusts and groups of companies with varied interests in mining, real estate, power and newspapers, among others, donated the highest amount of Rs 419.69 crore, between 2013-14 to 2015-16, to the national parties.BJP, INC and NCP, all three received the maximum contributions from Trusts and group of companies. BJP received the highest, Rs 287.69 crore from Trusts and group of companies, followed by INC (Rs 129.16 crore) and NCP (Rs 15.78 crore).BJP received the highest donations from all 14 sectors including real estate (Rs 105.20 crore), mining, construction, exports/imports (Rs 83.56 crore), chemicals/pharmaceuticals (Rs 31.94 crore), among others.As per the report, a total of 1,933 donations through which national parties received Rs 384.04 crore do not have PAN details in the contribution form.National parties have received Rs 355.08 crore from 1,546 donations which do not have address details in the contribution form, it added.”99 per cent of such donations without PAN and address details worth Rs 159.59 crore belong to BJP,” the report alleged.Political parties reported receiving 262 donations worth Rs 10.48 crore from such corporate entities who have zero internet presence or if they do, there is ambiguity about the nature of their work, ADR said.

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>The Congress and the BJP were today engaged in a war of words over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks made at an opposition meet, with the BJP alleging it was “hypocrisy” to talk about “composite culture” while remaining silent over killings of RSS workers in Kerala. Speaking at the ‘Sanjhi Virasat Bachao’ meeting, Congress vice president Gandhi had demanded a “Sach Bharat” or a true India instead of “Swachch Bharat” and attacked the BJP’s ideological mentor, the RSS, and accused it of trying to divide society on the lines of caste and religion. Hitting back at Gandhi, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the Congress vice president’s observations are more of a “political cry” arising out of a deep sense of dismay as to why he and his party are being rejected by the people of the country. “I have a question on the talk of composite heritage (‘sanjhi virasat’) which is going on today. RSS workers in Kerala’s Kannur are being allegedly killed by CPI-M workers, which heritage is that?” Prasad asked. “The organisers of composite heritage – Congress, Left and Sharad Yadav are sitting together, how do they consider the merciless killing of RSS workers in Kannur in Kerala by CPI-M workers and their goons? Is it part of the composite heritage of India? This is hypocrisy,” he said. “Does Rahul Gandhi speak about it (Killings in Kerala?) Where are Delhi’s so called liberal intellectuals who were doing ‘Award Wapasi’? Today RSS workers are being killed by CPI-M goons, why are the liberal intellectuals silent now?” Prasad asked. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari again hit back and termed as “unfortunate and intemperate” the remarks of Prasad on Gandhi and said it did not behove a minister to make obtuse personal comments. Taking exception to Prasad’s remarks against Gandhi, Tewari said the Union minister was not even aware of the facts about his party’s existence in 1980. The Congress leader said Prasad’s remarks truly reflect the exquisite mixture of “ignorance and arrogance” with which this government has come to characterise itself within its 38 months of being in power. He asked the minister whether it was not true that the previous NDA government led by Atal Behari Vajpayee had formed a committee to suggest changes in the Constitution. “Was that not an attempt to change the Constitution of India?” he asked. Tewari said the highest positions in the government, such as the Prime Minister’s Office, and the country’s various institutions, are occupied by people who owe their allegiance to the RSS and its affiliated bodies. “Ministers of the Union are serving on the board of a thinktank belonging to the RSS while being ministers is a clear case of conflict of interest,” he said. Referring to Prasad’s remarks on political violence in the country, especially in the context of Kerala, Tewari said the political killings have been condemned from this platform by the Congress repeatedly. “While the law minister sees the violence of the CPI-M, he does not see the violence which is unleashed by his own partymen and organisations which owe allegiance to it,” he said. Tewari said all those people who have gathered for the ‘Sanjhi Virasat Bachao’ (save country’s composite heritage) are actually “poor runners” of the liberal idea of India, an idea which has been under stress, strain and sustained assault for the last 38 months. “But the ideological battle against sectarianism, against fundamentalism and against the kind of obscurantism would continue, and ultimately we would triumph,” he said. Congress vice president Gandhi had demanded a “Sach Bharat” or a true India instead of “Swachch Bharat”. Gandhi also attacked the BJP’s ideological mentor, the RSS, and accused it of trying to divide society on the lines of caste and religion. “Modi ji says he wants to create a ‘Swachch Bharat’ but we want a ‘Sach Bharat’…We don’t want your ‘fake Bharat’,” Gandhi said, and alleged, “Wherever he (Modi) goes he lies”. Gandhi, however, did not elaborate further. Alleging that the RSS knew its views would not help it win elections, he said it was trying to plant its people in every institution. “Till the time RSS did not rule India, they never saluted the national flag…You can look at this nation in two ways. One says this country is mine, other says I belong to the country. That’s the difference between RSS and us,” he said.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Sounding the bugle for the next general election, BJP chief Amit Shah on Thursday chaired a meeting of party leaders here to chalk out a strategy for “Mission 2019” and on ways to bag more than 350 seats.As part of the strategy, Shah asked leaders to focus on the 150 seats which the party lost in the 2014 election, sources in the BJP said.These seats were in various states including West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka and in the north east.The meeting was attended by 31 party leaders including Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ananth Kumar and J P Nadda. Party office bearers Ram Lal, Anil Jain and Bhupender Yadav were also present at the meet.Power-point presentations were also shown at the meeting, elaborating on the party’s plans for the elections.Shah told the leaders the party was eyeing a two-third majority, or more than 350 seats in the next general elections.The BJP president, who has been visiting states as part of a 110-day country-wide tour to expand the party’s base and win new states, believes that the BJP should also remain in power at the Centre.After 30 years, a single party crossed the halfway mark when the BJP won 282 seats in the 2014 elections. It bagged 10 more than the required number for a majority in the 543-member House.Shah was the party in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP won an unprecedented 71 out of 80 seats in the last general poll.

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>The North Delhi Municipal Corporation today seized carry bags weighing 150 kg in total as part of its drive against use of polythene bags. The civic body has started the drive to confiscate polythene of thickness less than 50 microns in the wake of an National Green Tribunal (NGT) ban on it. “Polythene bags weighing 80 kg in total have been seized from Azadpur Mandi area in Civil Lines. Seventy kg of polythene bags has been seized from Sadar Paharganj area,” a senior official of the NDMC said. There are 104 wards under the NDMC and several markets fall under its jurisdiction.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>The Rajasthan government today held a meeting with members of the Gujjar community on the issue to reservation. Convener of the Rajasthan Gujjar Reservation Conflict Committee, Kirodi Singh Bainsla, said that we need reservation within OBC. He said that he is hopeful about the meeting with the state government’s representatives. The Gujjar community wants reservation and the government should provide reservation under 50 per cent limit, he said. The State’s representatives, including Parliament Affair Minister Rajendra Rathore, said that government is committed to provide reservation in a legal manner.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>It was a humid morning in the national capital with the minimum temperature settling three notches above normal. “The minimum temperature was recorded at 8.30 AM at 29.2 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal,” a MeT official said. Humidity level was recorded at 77 per cent. The weatherman has predicted a partly cloudy afternoon with possibility of light rain in few areas towards the evening. “The maximum temperature is expected to hover at 37 degrees Celsius,” the official said. Yesterday, the maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded at 37 and 28.5 degrees Celsius respectively.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>The BJP today hit out at the opposition saying it was “hypocrisy” to talk about composite heritage but remain silent over the killing of RSS workers in Kerala allegedly by CPI-M workers. Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Congress vice president’s observations are more of a “political cry” arising out of a deep sense of dismay as to why he and his party are being rejected by the people of the country. He also questioned the silence of “so-called liberal intellectuals” on the killings of RSS workers in Kerala, who had gone on an “Award Wapasi” spree earlier. Earlier in the day, Rahul took part in the ‘Sanjhi Virasat Bachao’ (save country’s composite heritage) hosted by rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, in which former prime minister Manmohan Singh and other senior Congress members as well as Left party leaders, including CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI leader D Raja, also took part. Rahul had also hit out at the government for not being able to keep its promises while targetting the RSS. “I have a question on the talk of composite heritage (‘sanjhi virasat’) which is going on today. RSS workers in Kerala’s Kannur are being allegedly killed by CPI-M workers, which heritage is that,” Prasad asked. “The organisers of composite heritage – Congress, Left and Sharad Yadav are sitting together, how do they consider the merciless killing of RSS workers in Kannur in Kerala by CPI-M workers and their goons. Is it part of the composite heritage of India? This is hypocrisy,” he said. He said, “Does Rahul Gandhi speak about it (Killings in Kerala?) Where are Delhi’s so-called liberal intellectuals who were doing ‘Award Wapasi’? Today RSS workers are being killed by CPI-M goons, why are the liberal intellectuals silent now?” he asked. Union minister Arun Jaitley had also recently met family members of a slain RSS functionary, a victim of political violence in Kerala. He claimed that those talking about composite heritage are a coalition of “failed people” and they will keep on failing in the future. He said he was “intrigued” by Rahul’s remark that on the one hand, there are those who loot the country and on the other, there are those who give to the nation. “People have removed from power those who looted the country. Your party is also there. But today, one thing was clear by his comments. Rahul Gandhi does not give a speech, he cries,” Prasad said. Taking a dig at Sharad Yadav, he said “The person whose entire politics started at the feet of JP, and opposing the Congress, is feeling happy today sitting beside Rahul Gandhi”. He said “this is a coalition of people who are in fear of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. This is also a coalition of those who have done corruption and now action is being taken”. Prasad said there were local body elections in Madhya Pradesh where BJP gave a good performance. “In West Bengal, there were local body elections in seven places, all were won by Trinamool but BJP came second everywhere. There was no sign of the Left. “I want to congratulate the team of MP and WB and say keep it up. Where is the Left? It was found that Left was sitting at composite heritage (conference),” he said. To a question, he said Rahul has silenced everybody in the Congress to such an extent that despite his party’s loss every time under him, nobody dares to ask him any question. On Kashmir, he said the government is taking “very firm measures” against the terrorists and separatists and probing their funding pattern. “That shall continue. But the larger commitment for Kashmir by the prime minister was outlined in his August 15 speech,” he said. Modi during his Independence Day speech had reached out to strife-hit Kashmiris, saying abuses and bullets will not resolve their problems but embracing them will. Prasad said that the most objectionable comment by Rahul today was that BJP is packing the judiciary and the media with its own people and will change the Constitution. “I would expect Rahul Gandhi not to make motivated political comment about the judiciary. India’s judiciary is independent and we all respect it. They are left with no issues and out of their political fear they are saying these things. I appeal to them not to not drag the judiciary”. Prasad said Rahul’s grandmother had spoken about committed judiciary during the times of Emergency. “The political training of Rahul and the political heritage of Rajiv Gandhi have been very unclear as far as independence of judiciary is concerned. They talk of committed judiciary in the 70s when Emergency was there. “I condemn these utterly irresponsible comments of Rahul concerning the judiciary and media. The Narendra Modi government fully respects the independence of judiciary and fully upholds the independence of media,” he added.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>The Met department today forecast heavy rain in several districts of Gangetic West Bengal, while the sub-Himalayan West Bengal districts which are reeling under floods are likely to receive one or two spells of precipitation. Isolated heavy rain is likely over the districts of East Midnapore, West Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas, , Howrah, Hooghly and Jhargram districts till tomorrow, the Met department said. The sub-Himalayan districts of the state, which have been affected by floods owing to very heavy rains since last week, are likely to receive one or two spells of rain in the next couple of days. Asansol in the western part of the state received the highest rainfall at 37 mm in 24 hours till 8.30 am today. The metropolis received 23 mm rainfall during the period, while Bankura closely followed at 22 mm, the Met department said.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>The Odisha government, in an effort to encourage inter-caste marriages, today announced that the cash incentive for persons performing inter-caste marriages would be doubled to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000. According to the SC/ST development, minorities & backward classes welfare department secretary S Kumar, the cash incentives would be given irrespective of the economic status of the marrying couple. The couple could use the cash to purchase land or buy household articles, he said. The state government had increased the amount to Rs 50,000 from Rs 10,000 in 2007, he added. He said since dalits comprise 17 per cent of the state’s population and the tribals comprise 22 per cent, such cash incentive may help to subside the conflict over inter-caste marriages. A couple will have to apply for a sanction of the grant and execute a bond in order to avail the opportunity. The recipients will have to refund the entire amount within a year in case the marriage ends in divorce within five years. Sources said as many as 4100 couples have availed the cash incentive facility between 2010 and 2016.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>The flood situation in Assam remained very critical today as 10 more people lost their lives while 31.55 lakh are still affected in 24 districts of the state. With today’s deaths, the toll in the latest wave of floods in the state rose to 49. The overall death figure in this year’s flood in Assam is 133. According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), three people died during the day in Dhubri, two in Morigaon and one each in Dhemaji, Sonitpur, Barpeta, South Salmara and Nagaon districts, even as the number of affected people came down against yesterday’s 33.5 lakh across 24 districts. The ASDMA said at present 31.55 lakh people are affected in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Sonitpur, Udalguri, Darrang, Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Morigaon, Nagaon, Karbi Anglong, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar and Dibrugarh districts. Dhubri is the worst-affected with 8.13 lakh people hit, followed by Morigaon with 5.30 lakh people affected by the deluge. Currently, 2,584 villages are inundated and 1.67 lakh hectares of crop area are damaged, the ASDMA said. Authorities are running 602 relief camps and distribution centres in 21 districts, where 1,01,035 people have taken shelter. The NDRF, SDRF and district administration personnel have rescued nearly 3,500 people to safer places in many districts. The floods have damaged embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructures in Udalguri, Barpeta, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Nagaon, Golaghat, Lakhimpur, Dhubri, Morigaon, Jorhat and Majuli. Heavy erosion was witnessed in Udalguri and Majuli districts, the ASDMA said. Currently, the Brahmaputra river is flowing above the danger marks at Guwahati, Nimatighat in Jorhat, Tezpur in Sonitpur, Goalpara and Dhubri towns. Other rivers like the Dhansiri at Numaligarh in Golaghat, Jia Bharali at NT Road Crossing in Sonitpur, Kopili at Dharamtul in Nagaon, Beki at Road Bridge in Barpeta and Kushiyara at Karimganj town are flowing above their danger marks. Vast forest areas in Kaziranga National Park, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Lawkhua wildlife sanctuary are under the flood waters, the ASDMA report said. Meanwhile, the Indian Railways today said it has begun restoration work of damaged rail tracks and bridges to restart train services as soon as possible. “While the overall flood situation continues to be grim in most part of Bihar and railway tracks remains breached in many locations, NF Railway has started restoration work in all locations on a war footing,” Northeast Frontier Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Pranav Jyoti Sharma said in a statement. In Alipurduar Division, rail connectivity from Fakiragram to Dhubri has been restored from this morning after completion of work on Bridge Number 28, he said, adding, “Rail connectivity from Dhubri will be restored and DEMU services will be started from tomorrow.” In Lumding Division also, flood-affected rail tracks between Silghat and Jakhalabandha stations have been restored for movement of traffic at restricted speed,” Sharma said. “Four track maintainers of Katihar Division, Dipak Laskar, Biswajit Dutta Gupta, Lankesh and Rupesh Kumar, who showed extreme presence of mind and extraordinary courage to save Bridge Number 132 from being washed away by flood waters, have been awarded in cash by the General Manager of NF Railway,” the CPRO said. “NF Railway is running special trains from Guwahati to Dalkhola and from Dibrugarh to Guwahati for clearance of rush caused by cancellation of trains due to the floods,” the statement said. Yesterday, the NF Railway had announced that all trains to the northeast from the rest of the country have been cancelled till August 20 due damages on rail tracks by floods, which have caused havoc in Assam, West Bengal and Bihar.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Two women in Agripada area in central Mumbai have lodged separate complaints alleging that unidentified persons chopped off their hair when they were asleep. Similar complaints had been reported in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in the last few weeks, and also in neighbouring Thane district. The city police today said that on August 12, a 45-year-old woman, resident of Arab Masjid area in Agripada, lodged a complaint that somebody chopped off her hair when she was deep in sleep around midnight. Two days later, another woman, resident of Kalapani in Agripada, approached police with similar complaint. She also said she was having a headache since the incident, so the police sent her to hospital for medical examination, but she didn’t return, said a police officer. Police are verifying the complaints, but haven’t registered any criminal case so far.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>BJP chief Amit Shah will attend a series of meetings, including that of state unit office bearers, address students, release a book and meet heads of various social groups during a three-day visit to Madhya Pradesh. Shah left for Bhopal tonight. The visit from Friday is part of his 110-day nationwide tour to strengthen the party ahead of 2019 general elections. He will pay tributes to Deen Dayal Upadhyay and Raja Bhoj in Bhopal on tomorrow morning, BJP said in a statement. He will attend a series of meetings with local party leaders including state unit office bearers, central office bearers, core group members, state spokespersons, MPs, MLAs, district presidents among others during his hectic three-day visit. The BJP chief will also address intellectuals and meritorious students, besides releasing a book written by Kailash Narayan Sarang. During his visit Shah will plant a sapling at Kaliasot dam near Chhaoni village. He will meet chiefs of various social groups and saints at the Chief Minister’s residence on second day of his visit.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra today demanded action against Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for allegedly breaching the protocol during Independence Day function in Ferozepur. Chandumajra, who is also Member Parliament from Sri Anandpur Sahib, alleged that Sidhu “violated” the protocol by allowing Congress leaders on his vehicle while inspecting the guard of honour. He said the state government had taken action against police officers who tried to stop the Congress leaders. A police inspector was suspended yesterday for the breach of protocol during the Independence Day function. The action was taken as several Congress leaders boarded the police gypsy when Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was the chief guest, was on it to inspect the “guard of honour”, the officials had said. MLA Satkar Kaur, the district’s Congress chief Chamkaur Singh Dhindsa, former minister Inderjit Singh Zira and party leader Harinder Singh Khosa had boarded the vehicle, they had said.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>The Madras High Court today dismissed as withdrawn an anticipatory bail application filed by a fan of actor Vijay who apprehended arrest in connection with alleged online abuse of a woman journalist. When the matter came up for hearing, Ram Kumar, who filed the petition, said he was withdrawing it following which Justice P N Prakash dismissed the plea as withdrawn. Dhanya Rajndran, editor-in-chief of an online news portal, had earlier this month filed a police complaint after abusive comments were made on social media against her by several persons over her critical comments about a film of Vijay. Though she deleted the comments, these did not stop, following which she lodged a police complaint. Rajendran had to face a volley of abuse from various Twitter users who were allegedly fans of actor Vijay, who has a number of hits under his belt. City Police had filed the case against some Twitter handles, and invoked various sections of Indian Penal Code, Information Technology Act 2000 and TN Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 2002. Sections such as ‘stalking’ and ‘criminal intimidation’ were invoked against two Twitter handles. Vijay, currently shooting for his film “Mersal”, had said everybody had a right to criticise films. “I respect women in society. Anybody has the freedom of expression to criticise anybody’s film. My opinion is that maligning or making slanderous comments against women should not be made,” he had said. Womanhood should be praised, he said, and urged that no comments “hurting anybody” and women in particular, should be published online.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Nearly five months after assuming power, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath on Thursday fulfilled the BJP’s poll promise to waive off farmers’ loans. In the first phase, which took place in Lucknow on Thursday, 7,541 farmers were distributed loan waiver certificates by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.Speaking on the occasion, Adityanath said that it was not a favour from his government to the farmer, but a gesture to show the contribution made by farmers to India’s economy. “The Uttar Pradesh government is committed to fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of doubling farmers’ income by 2022,” he added.The Chief Minister announced that Khatauni (land records) will be linked to Aadhar cards in Uttar Pradesh to ensure that land mafias make no attempt to usurp farmers’ land. He said that his government has already constituted an Anti-Land Mafia Task Force and has effectively put a check on land grabbing.Adityanath added that verification of 70 lakh farmers under the loan waiver scheme has already been done by his government and remaining would be done shortly. About 86 lakh medium and small farmers were brought under the scheme for which the BJP government had allocated Rs 36,000 crore in its maiden budget to fulfil its poll promise.The Chief Minister claimed that over 7 lakh farmers across state have been provided power connection and his government has drawn up a plan to provide houses to about 24 lakh farmers by 2024. “My government is also planning to link online over 5,000 mandis across country with Uttar Pradesh for the benefit of farmers,” he added.

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patron Parkash Singh Badal and president Sukhbir Singh Badal today took asked the Congress government to ensure justice to the common man as well as political opponents in Punjab, alleging rule of law has “vanished” in the state. Both leaders held separate meetings with the public at the party office here while hearing their grievances. Akali councillors approached Parkash Singh Badal, the ex-chief minister, in the morning and told him how Congress leaders were “threatening and attacking” them, a release from SAD said. Kharar leader Ranjit Singh Gill claimed a Congressman Jeeti Padiala allegedly entered the residence of Kurali committee president Krishna Devi and took away councillor Ramakant at gun point. He said this was done when nine Akali councilors were holding a meeting. He claimed that the councillor was not only beaten but threatened that he would be eliminated if he did not toe the line of the Congress party. Badal talked to DGP Suresh Arora over the issue and told him that it was unfortunate that such violence was being perpetrated against an elected official, the release said. It added that a family approached SAD president Sukhbir Badal and claimed that they were not able to get justice in a murder case. Meanwhile, the former chief minister said the Centre’s reported decision to extend concessions to Punjab’s neighbouring hill states will hit the state and its economy. “No one deserves these concessions more than Punjab which has faced four active and bloody wars and is the only part of the country which is situated on a live and hostile border which even the Centre admits continues to be a cause of concern for national security,” Badal said here.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>A 37-year-old Ghana national was arrested for allegedly cloning debit cards and fraudulently withdrawing money from ATMs, the police said today. The accused, Kingsley Boafo, was arrested on August 12 near HDFC Bank ATM, located on Main Najafgarh Road in Uttam Nagar. He has been staying in the country even after his visa had expired, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Surender Kumar. He had come to Mumbai from Ghana in July 2015 in connection with his garment business. In October that year, he shifted to Delhi and continued the business of exporting ready-made clothes to his country, the police said. With a desire to earn more in a short period of time, he used to browse the Internet and found ways to clone ATM cards. He bought devices online to clone ATM cards, the police said. Boafo surveyed the ATMs that did not have security guards and through a skimmer placed in the card reader slot of the machines he would copy details of cards inserted in the slot, the police said, adding the data was downloaded to a laptop and then transferred to a Magnetic Strip Reader/Writer (MSR). Blank debit cards were swiped through the MSR and these cloned cards were used to withdraw money from the ATMs fraudulently, they said. Boafo was helped by one Issac, an African, in preparing cloned ATM cards. The duo deleted the stolen data from their devices soon after withdrawing money as the ATM cards, whose data they fraudulently obtained, were blocked by card holders, the police said. The accused was in Mumbai for a couple of months this year and had returned to Delhi in the last week of July. It is suspected that he committed similar offences in Mumbai also, they said, adding police are on the lookout for Issac.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>A class 12 student was allegedly strangulated to death by a man at a park in north-west Delhi’s Rohini area as he did not approve her talking to her other male friends, the police said today. The incident was reported yesterday. The accused, Sarthak Kapoor (18), was not in favour of the girl talking to her other friends, they said. He used to often visit her school and fight with her friends, too, the police said. The 17-year-old girl was a bright student and had secured 10 cumulative grade point average (CGPA) in Class 10. The accused was the victim’s senior at school. He passed out this year, they said. Yesterday, Kapoor picked up the girl from her coaching institute at Rohini’s Sector 17 as he wanted to “talk to her”, the police said. He took her to a lane near a housing society where they had a scuffle over some issue and he strangulated her, they said, adding that the accused panicked and fled the spot. When the girl did not return home, her father called up her friends, but could not trace his daughter. He also tried to reach Kapoor, but he did not respond, the police said. They said that he then reached the accused’s residence and asked him whether he was aware about his the girl’s whereabouts. Kapoor pretended to look for her by asking help from her other friends. However, the police grew suspicious and questioned him about the girl’s whereabouts, they said. Initially, he hesitated, but later confessed to killing the girl, the police claimed, adding that he has been arrested. He also took the police to the spot where he had strangulated her, they said. The victim’s father told the police that Kapoor would often harass the girl, and even though she tried to maintain distance from him, he would keep on approaching her. Kapoor is pursuing Bachelor in Computer Application (BCA) from an institute in Rohini.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has approved the Delhi government’s proposal to double the honorarium of Anganwadi workers, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said today. The move comes three weeks after the Delhi cabinet had decided to double the allowances of anganwadi workers and helpers in the national capital. A cabinet decision was taken last month to raise the allowances for the workers and helpers to Rs 10,170 and Rs 5,089 respectively, Sisodia had said. The raise was awaiting Baijal’s approval. Earlier, the workers were being paid Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,500 respectively. “The LG has given his nod to Delhi government’s decision to double the honorarium. Thank you. However, it took 26 days (to get the approval),” Sisodia wrote in a tweet. There are around 11,000 anganwadi centres in Delhi, and each centre has a worker and a helper, a government official said.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Out to challenge Nitish Kumar’s leadership, rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav today rallied about a dozen parties at an event here and asserted that if people stand together, then even “Hitler cannot win”. Yadav organised the convention, titled ‘Sanjhi Virasat Bachao’ (save the common culture), amidst his strong opposition to Kumar joining the BJP-led NDA and his claim to represent the real JD(U). The convention was attended by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and leaders from other parties like CPI-M, CPI, SP, BSP, NCP, RJD, NC, JD-S and RLD. Yadav, who has been removed by Kumar as leader of the party in Rajya Sabha, has been insisting that he is founder of the party and hence the real leader. Addressing the gathering, Yadav attacked the ruling BJP as he raked up several issues including alleged atrocities against dalits and minorities, love jihad, suicides by farmers, deaths of children in a Gorakhpur hospital and the killing of soldiers at the border. As the other opposition leaders called for a united fight, Yadav urged the youth and farmers in particular to make right use of their “power of vote” for a bright future. “I am confident that when people of this country, world stand united, even Hitler cannot win,” he said amid cheers from his supporters. At the convention, he was lauded by many opposition leaders for standing with the secular forces and some of them recognised Yadav’s faction as the “real JD(U)”. Yadav said that after Kumar decided to join hands with the BJP recently, he had received “several calls” from people who thought he may become a union minister but added that there is a tradition of “making sacrifices” to save the composite culture. He appealed to the youth to join the “battle” for saving the composite culture. “I want the youth to come to join the battle to save the composite culture. They (BJP) talk about ‘love jihad’. What will transpire between a young boy or girl, if not love? “I had seen the film Mughal-e-Azam years ago. It had a song ‘Mohabbat Zindabad’ (hail love). Now, here is a strange King who says you will go to jail if you fall in love,” he said, without naming anyone or a party. Stating that Dr BR Ambedkar, despite belonging to backward community, had drafted Constitution for all the communities, Yadav said the dalits are under attack and cited examples of incidents in Gujarat’s Una and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. “Don’t target the dalit youngsters who are fighting against the injustice…the composite culture talks about embracing the deprived,” he added. He further wondered how the country will fight against China “which is using aggressive language these days” if it is divided on communal lines. “We cannot give a reply to China, if 80 per cent of the (country’s population) youngsters, the deprived sections, farmers are not strong,” he added.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>One of the accused in the Nasirpur village violence case, in which a man was killed and six others wounded, here has been booked under the stringent National Security Act, district authorities said today. According to district magistrate G S Priyadarshi, accused Israr, who is under arrest, has been booked under the NSA in connection with the case. On June 5, a clash broke out between two groups due to an overflowing drain at Nasirpur village. One person, identified as 22-year-old Akash, was killed due to bullet injuries and six others, including his father, were injured, the police had said. The Uttar Pradesh police had then arrested 20 people, including Israr, on charges of murder and rioting.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Around 74 more deaths were today reported from the deluge-battered areas of Bihar, Assam and West Bengal, where swirling floodwaters have paralysed normal life and marooned over 1.20 crore people. The figure of flood casualties mounted to 119 in Bihar, with 47 more people losing their lives. The deluge has affected nearly 98 lakh people in 16 districts, forced postponement of examination and cancellation of trains, officials said. Araria district accounted for 23 deaths, Sitamarhi 12, Kisanganj, East Champaran, West Champaran and Supual 11 each, Madhubani and Katihar 7 each, Madhepura and Purnea 5 each, Darbhanga and Saharsa 4 each, Gopalganj and Khagaria 3 each and Sheohar 2. The flood situation may take a turn for the worse as the MeT office has predicted rain in Nepal and northern and southern Bihar for one more week. The Health Department has launched a toll-free number — 104 — officials said, adding hospitals have been directed to maintain a sufficient stock of anti-snake and anti-rabies injections. Disaster Management Department Principal Secretary Pratyay Amrit said 3.59 lakh people have been shifted to safer places. Of them, 2.13 lakh were put up in 504 relief camps. Food packets are being airdropped in inundated areas. Where flood waters have receded, they are being supplied through panchayats. Principal Secretary, Road Construction, Amrit Lal Meena said 124 roads, including national highways, have been damaged due to floods. An East Central Railways statement said 39 trains were cancelled as water overtopped tracks. Floods claimed 17 more lives in six northern districts of West Bengal, even as the overall situation improved today, officials said. Out of the 17 people, 15 drowned while two others died after they were bitten by snake, a senior disaster management department official said. Forty-nine people have died in flood-related incidents in the districts of Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Coochbehar, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Malda since July 21, the official said. As rains have abated, water has started receding and the situation has improved a lot, he said. Ten more people died due to floods in Assam. Around 31 lakh people across 24 districts are bearing the brunt of the flooding. The toll in the third wave of floods in the state has risen to 49. 133 people have died so far this year in flood- related incidents. According to a report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), three persons died in Dhubri, two in Morigaon and one each in Dhemaji, Sonitpur, Barpeta, South Salmara and Nagaon districts. Currently, 2,584 villages are under water. 1.67 lakh hectares of crop area has been damaged, the ASDMA said. Authorities are running 602 relief camps and distribution centres in 21 districts, where 1,01,035 people are taking shelter. The NDRF, SDRF and district administration personnel have evacuated nearly 3,500 people to safer places.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>The Indian Army is all set to buy 6 Boeing Apaches, the most-advanced combat choppers in the world.Here’s 5 point guide to understand what makes Apaches so lethal and how it will help the army:1: Boeing started making the AH 64 Apaches in early 1980s. The first AH 64 A was delivered to the US Army in January 1984.2: The aircraft is designed in a way as to minimise the crew fatalities. The design helps to save crew in the fatal crash situation. With a shield between the cockpit, one member of the crew can always survive.3: The chopper has self-fuelling system, which can protect itself from a ballistic missile attack.4: The Apaches are an all-weather chopper that can operate any time of the day and night. There are over 2,000 Apaches in operations around the world.5: The choppers ordered by the Indian Army will come with anti-tank missiles, rockets and 30 mm gun, an NDTV report said. This latest buy would help the army to lessen its dependability on the Indian Air Force.

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>An Army jawan and his father were injured along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Nowshera sector of Rajouri district as the Pakistan Army violated ceasefire for the sixth consecutive day today. There was a ceasefire violation by the Pakistan Army in the Nowshera sector today in which two persons – a jawan and his father – sustained minor splinter injuries, Army officials said. There were also reports of brief small arms firing along the LoC in Poonch sector today, a police official said. There have been several ceasefire violations by Pakistani forces along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir in the last six days, beginning from August 12, when a jawan and a woman were killed, officials said. On August 13, the Pakistan Army violated ceasefire four times by resorting to firing and shelling in Krishnagati, Mankote (Poonch district) Nowshera (Rajouri district) and Uri (Baramulla district) resulting in injuries to three jawans. On August 14, there was firing by Pak Army on the forward areas along the LoC in the Tangdhar belt of Kupwara district of north Kashmir. The next day, on August 15, a woman was injured in firing and shelling along the LoC in the Uri sector of Baramulla district in north Kashmir. Yesterday, the Pakistan army violated ceasefire by firing and shelling in civilian areas and forward posts at six places along the LoC in Poonch district, forcing the Indian Army to retaliate. The year, 2017, has seen a sharp increase in ceasefire violations at the LoC by Pakistan. Till August 1, there have been 285 such violations by the Pakistan Army while in 2016, the number was significantly less, 228, for the entire year.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today recommended a CBI probe into alleged swindling of government money to the tune of over Rs 950 crore by an NGO in Bhagalpur. Kumar’s decision came after a high-level meeting on the the case in which government money was allegedly syphoned off by an NGO in Bhagalpur and some nationalised banks and government officials were also suspects. “The CM gave an order (to the state authorities) to hand over cases registered in the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation for inquiry,” an official statement said. The meeting was attended by state Chief Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh, Director General of Police P K Thakur, Principal Secretary of Home Amir Subhani and Inspector General of Police (Economic Offence Unit) G S Gangwar. The cases were being investigated by the economic offences unit (EOU) of the Bihar Police. The state police today issued a lookout notice against secretary of the accused NGO, ‘Srijan’ and her husband for allegedly swindling over Rs 950 crore of government money in Bhagalpur. “The lookout notice against NGO secretary Priya Kumar and her husband Amit Kumar has been sent to all airports of the country to prevent them from leaving the country,” Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters) S K Singhal said. Priya Kumar is the daughter-in-law of Manorama Devi, the founder of the NGO. Manorama Devi died early this year after which the NGO was being run by Priya Kumar and Amit Kumar, son of Manorama Devi, officials said. Singhal said that the bank account of the wife of arrested District Welfare Officer Arun Kumar has been frozen in Bhagalpur. Officials said during a raid, over Rs 1.50 crore was allegedly found deposited in that account. The ADG said 10 arrests have been made so far in connection with the scam.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –> Mocking the Tamil Nadu Commission for constituting probe on former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa death, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday stated that there should be prima facie or evidence, on basis of which, the probe can take place. Speaking to ANI, saffron party leader Subramanian Swamy said, ?At who?s expense- is it the tax payers? expense? No problem, they can have one more. But the matter of fact is that there should be some prima facie and evidence for which the probe can take place. According to that all necessary action can be taken?. Further speaking on the probe, Swamy stated that investigation should be done as nobody has anything to hide or save. ?We accepted the prestigious Apollo Hospital?s report, wherein all foreign specialist and members and categorically stated that she had a natural death. Then why probe and other evidence to be put forward. This move is a politically motivated one. Investigation should be done as nobody has anything to hide or save,? he said. Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E. Palaniswami ordered a judicial probe into the death of former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa. Palaniswami stated that the probe into Jaya?s death had been one of the key demands of the O. Panneerselvam faction of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) for its planned merger with the EPS grouping. Palaniswami said, ?Commission will be constituted under a retired judge to probe death of Amma (J. Jayalalithaa). The Chief Minister also announced that Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa, Veda Nilayam, will be turned into a museum. ?Her (Jayalalithaa) Poes Garden residence in Chennai will be made into a memorial,? said Palaniswami said. Jayalalithaa led the AIADMK till she died in December after months in hospital. Sasikala, in February, decided she should become Chief Minister herself. But her plans collapsed when she was convicted by the Supreme Court for corruption and sentenced to jail for four years.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>The Delhi High Court today said that pre-flight breathalyser tests are mandatory for flight and cabin crew under the Civil Aviation Regulations (CAR) but the rules are not being followed properly by the DGCA. Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva directed the DGCA and Air India (AI) to ensure this requirement is not circumvented in the future and if necessary to consider making amendments to the CAR to ensure the objective of enacting it is achieved. The court was of the view that the tests were not being correctly followed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) as these were being held at the start of every fight cycle, which comprises several flights, instead of after every flight. It noted that this practice was being followed by the DGCA on the assumption that after the pre-flight test, before the first flight of the day, the pilots and crew would not leave the sterile area till the end of their duty cycle. “According to the safety regulations under the CAR, it is mandatory for each flight crew and cabin crew to be subjected to pre-flight breathalyser examination prior to each flight. “This negates the submission of the respondent (DGCA) that pre-flight breathalyser examination is required to be taken only once during the flight duty cycle,” it said. The court’s observations came on a plea by a pilots association which had sought stringent action against senior AI pilot, Captain Arvind Kathpalia, for missing a pre-flight breath analyser test in January this year. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), in its plea, had contended that the senior pilot had flown a flight to Bengaluru from Delhi without taking the mandatory breathalyser test and then operated the return flight too without taking the test. Thereafter, he had made an ante-dated entry in the pre- flight medical register in Delhi after arriving back here, the ICPA had alleged. In the instant case, the DGCA had suspended the flying licence of the pilot for three months. ICPA had contended that since pre-flight tests were missed by the pilot before both the flights to and from Bengaluru, the punishment of three months be enhanced to three years for two offences. The court did not enhance this punishment, as sought by the ICPA, as the DGCA had considered the two flights operated by the pilot as one flight cycle. The court, however, took a serious view of the senior pilot’s act of making an entry in the pre-flight test register, saying it “acquires serious proportions in view of the very purpose of CAR — to ensure flight safety and safety of passengers, who put their lives in the hands of the pilots”. “The gravity of the situation is further compounded by the fact that Captain Kathpalia had earlier held the post of Executive Director (Operations) and had been instrumental in making other pilots and crew aware that CAR was mandatory. “He himself had been responsible for ensuring compliance with CAR in the interest of air safety. The gravity of the offence is increased, when the very person whose job is to ensure compliance of the mandatory provisions, himself violates the same and not only does he violate the mandatory provisions but makes a false entry in the register to cover up his lapse,” it said. The court ordered a disciplinary enquiry in the conduct of Captain Kathpalia with regard to making an entry in the pre-flight medical examination register and antedating the same and to take appropriate action in accordance with law. Direction was also issued to the Air India to “identify and fix responsibility on the officer(s) who were responsible and failed to immediately bring the infraction on the part of Captain Kathpalia to the notice of the DGCA, and thereafter, to take appropriate action in accordance with law (against them)”. With regard to the making of ante-dated entry by the pilot, the court said “the incident highlights the loophole in CAR, whereby the mandatory requirement of CAR can easily be avoided in case of collusion between the doctor on duty and the pilot”. It said that both DGCA and Air India, need to examine the issue and take remedial steps. “The consequences of such an action can be drastic. Such an action cannot be lightly brushed aside completely, without the disciplinary authority applying its mind to it,” it said.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>West Bengal assembly today passed a bill seeking to provide full exemption of land revenue (Khazna), cess and surcharge in respect of agricultural land to help distressed farmers. The West Bengal Land Reforms (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017, was today moved in the assembly to amend the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955, for the benefit of a large number of farmers in the state. State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee said that the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has always fought for the farmers in distress. It was her commitment for the farmers, which has been kept through this amendment of the bill. Interest of the farmers would be protected by the state government, he said. The minister also said that the Mamata Banerjee government is against conversion of agricultural land. Both agriculture and industry would come up on land specified for them categorically, Chatterjee said adding no construction would be allowed on agricultural land in the state. The bill was passed in voice vote, though some opposition members alleged that the farmers in the state were not getting right price of their produce.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today lashed out at Akali leaders Sukhbir Singh Badal and Harsimrat Kaur Badal for “misleading” people of the state on crop loan waiver, GST on langar, and other issues. The chief minister also challenged them to list out a “single meaningful achievement” of their party’s rule in the state. Lambasting the husband-wife duo for “ruining the state with their ill-conceived policies and visionless programmes”, Amarinder, after inaugurating the Partition Museum here, said the Akalis in the 10 years of their rule had brought the state on its “knees”. Amarinder today inaugurated the first-of-its-kind museum in the istoric city, a tribute to the sacrifices of thousands of people who lost their lives and homes in the partition. He further alleged that Sukhbir and his coterie had “ruined” the state and its assets, thus depriving Punjab of its pristine pride and glory. He also hit out at SAD President Sukhbir Badal for questioning the Congress Government’s four-month rule in the state, challenging him to explain what he and his party had done for Punjab in the past decade. The chief minister urged Sukhbir to introspect about what the Akali government had given to Punjab. He claimed that his government had in just four months taken several historic welfare measures for the state and its people. To a question on GST exemption on ‘langar’ and ‘prasad’, Amarinder said that he had taken up this issue with the Union Finance Minister and would pursue the same. In response to a question on the T Haque committee report, he pointed out that his government had already waived debt of 10.25 lakh small and marginal farmers in the state. He said the T Haque led expert committee was now working on some other key issues concerning the farming community and would soon submit its final report. He accused the Akalis and other political opponents of trying to mislead people on the issue in order to promote their vested interests. Earlier, the chief minister paid floral tributes to Shaheed Madan Lal Dhingra on his martyrdom day near Bharawan Da Dhaba.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Samajwadi Party (SP) members here burnt an effigy of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a protest today against the police detaining their leader Akhilesh Yadav when he was going to attend a rally in Auraiya. “It is murder of democracy as everybody has the right to protest against the wrong actions of the government,” SP district chief Tanveer Ahmad said. He said, the government cannot suppress the voice of SP activists of by using “baton or bullet”. “They cannot frighten us by showing the fear of jail,” Ahmad said. The activists also raised against the chief minister and the state government. The SP president, Akhilesh Yadav, was today detained by the police in Unnao when he was on his way to attend a protest rally in Auraiya . Yadav, who was later released and allowed to go to Lucknow, attacked the Adityanath government alleging that it was “misusing” the state machinery.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>India can face China and Pakistan but the threat is from within the country as somebody is determined to spoil everything by dividing the people, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah said today. The former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, while addressing a gathering of opposition leaders hosted by rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav here, recited poetry and couplets to target the BJP in a veiled manner but took no names. “India can face China and Pakistan but unfortunately today the threat is from inside, not from outside,” he said. “Andar koi chor baitha hua hai jo hamara beda garak kar raha hai. Voh humaein bant raha hai (There is someone inside who is determined to spoil everything. He is dividing us),” Abdullah added. “Earlier, we fought against the British but today we have to fight with our own people,” he added at the ‘Sanjhi Virasat Bachao’ (save our composite culture) programme. Talking about Kashmiris, Abdullah said some people were trying to question their nationality. “Who are they to ask us about our nationality? We Kashmiris chose India over Pakistan during partition because India guarantees equality. And I say it with pride that I am an Indian Muslim,” said Abdullah, who has also served as a union minister. Expressing pain and grief over situation in Kashmir, he said, “Voh hum se kehte hain hum vafadar nahin, par afsos ki baat hai voh dildaar nahin (they say we are not loyal but sadly they are not large hearted).” Abdullah said the people of Kashmir will stop complaining the day they are treated with a large heart. “They are talking about unity but are they creating the atmosphere for it? They talk a lot but lack in action,” he said in an apparent attack on the rival BJP. His comments came two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to Kashmiris in his Independence Day speech, saying their problems cannot be addressed by either bullets or by abuses but by embracing all Kashmiris. Abdullah said his party workers, who were holding the national flag, were killed in 1990s but “today they tell us we are not Indians… There is no doubt that I am a Muslim and I say it with pride that I am an Indian Muslim.” He said last year, an all-party delegation came to Kashmir to evaluate the situation there and also gave its report but nothing had been done on that.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Over a dozen opposition parties today launched a scathing attack on the RSS and accused the Modi government of not fulfilling its promises, as Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi demanded a ‘sach Bharat’ or a true India instead of ‘Swachch Bharat’. Gandhi also attacked the BJP’s ideological mentor, the RSS, and accused it of trying to divide society on the lines of caste and religion. The platform for opposition unity was the ‘Sanjhi Virasat Bachao’ (save our composite culture) meeting hosted by rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav and attended by a host of leaders, including those from the Congress, CPI-M, CPI, SP, BSP, NCP, RJD, NC, JD-S and RLD. Addressing the gathering, which included former prime minister Manmohan Singh as well as the CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury, CPI’s D Raja and National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, Gandhi said he backed an India that stood for truth. “Modi ji says he wants to create a ‘Swachch Bharat’ but we want a ‘sach Bharat’…We don’t want your ‘fake Bharat’,” Gandhi said and alleged, “Wherever he goes he lies.” He, however, did not elaborate further. Stressing the need for unity in the fight against the BJP and the RSS, the Congress vice president said, “If we all fight unitedly, I can tell you they will not be seen anywhere.” Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Congress vice president’s observations were more of a “political cry” arising out of a deep sense of dismay on why he and his party were being rejected by the people of the country. The opposition meet reflected “hypocrisy”, he said. Today’s meet was also seen as a show of strength by Sharad Yadav, who has parted ways with his old-time colleague and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, amid speculation that the JD-U would split. If the people united, “even a Hitler” could not stand before them, said Yadav, who appeared to emerge as a rallying point for the opposition with leaders collectively endorsing his call for preserving India’s composite culture. “I am confident that when people of this country, world stand united, even Hitler cannot win over them,” Yadav said. Gandhi also accused the BJP of not fulfilling the promises made to the people during the 2014 general elections, including bringing back black money stashed abroad and creating jobs for youth. He said unemployment in the country was the highest in eight years but did not give any figures to back his claim. Alleging that the RSS knew its views would not help them win elections, he said it was trying to plant its people in every institution. “Till the time RSS did not rule India, they never saluted the national flag…You can look at this nation in two ways. One says this country is mine, other says I belong to the country. That’s the difference between RSS and us,” he said. Referring to the theme of the meeting, CPI(M) general secretary Yechury said several Hindu and Muslims leaders fought against the British but “this composite heritage is being threatened now”. Calling for a joint fight against “divisive and communal” forces, he said more Muslims chose to stay back in India than go to Pakistan after partition. But this composite culture is now being tampered with to convert India into a “Hindu Rashtra”, Yechury alleged. “We are with Sharad Yadav. If we have to save this composite culture, Sharad ji will hold the key to the movement to save it. He will have to complete the task,” he said. “The prime minister talks about not repeating Indira Gandhi’s Emergency. But what is he doing?” he asked, while noting that Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar’s recorded Independence Day speech was blocked by public broadcasters Doordarshan and All India Radio. “We will fight against the policies destroying diversity,” Yechury added. Congress leader Ahmed Patel, who was recently elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat, said, “I urge Sharad ji to prepare an action plan… We will go to every nook and corner of the country and warn people that we will not be able to save the country, democracy, humanity if we do not save our composite culture, heritage.” This was required to defeat forces, which were trying to destroy the country’s social fabric, in 2019, Patel said. Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said Yadav was the “real JD-U” and noted that he had declined a cabinet berth and chosen the path of secularism. CPI’s Raja dubbed the RSS an “unconstitutional” authority and alleged it was instructing the government in every matter. “They are trying to destroy our composite culture by dividing the people. They want to win elections in any manner.” National Conference leader Abdullah also launched a scathing attack on the state of affairs in the country but did not name anybody. “India can face China and Pakistan but unfortunately today the threat is from inside not from outside.” “Andar koi chor baitha hua hai jo hamara beda garak kar raha hai (There is a thief sitting inside who is determined to spoil everything),” Abdullah added in an apparent broadside against the Centre. Reacting to the meeting, Prasad said it was “hypocrisy” to talk about composite heritage and remain silent on the killing of RSS workers in Kerala allegedly by CPI(M) goons. “To this talk of composite heritage which is going on today, I have a question. The RSS workers in Kerala’s Kannur who are being allegedly killed by CPI(M) workers, which heritage is that,” he asked. The Congress termed as “unfortunate and intemperate” Prasad’s comments on Gandhi. Referring to Prasad’s remarks on political violence in the country, Tewari said the political killings had been condemned by the Congress repeatedly. “While the law minister sees the violence of the CPI(M), he does not see the violence which is unleashed by his own party men and organisations which owe allegiance to it,” he said.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –> The Apollo Hospital of Tamil Nadu on Thursday backed state government?s decision to set up a committee to inquire into death of former late Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa’s death, saying that it is a good move. ?The team at Apollo Hospital who relentlessly fought to save her, is confident that the committee will bring to the light the outstand in treatment and care she received from the hospital?s eminent doctors,? the statement issued by the hospital read. Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E. Palaniswami ordered a judicial probe into the death of former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa. Palaniswami stated that the probe into Jaya’s death had been one of the key demands of the O. Panneerselvam faction of the AIADMK for its planned merger with the EPS grouping. Palaniswami said, “Commission will be constituted under a retired judge to probe death of Amma ( J. Jayalalithaa). The Chief Minister also announced that Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa, Veda Nilayam, will be turned into a museum. “Her (Jayalalithaa) Poes Garden residence in Chennai will be made into a memorial,” said Palaniswami said. Jayalalithaa led the AIADMK till she died in December after months in hospital. Sasikala, in February, decided she should become Chief Minister herself. But her plans collapsed when she was convicted by the Supreme Court for corruption and sentenced to jail for four years.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>Around 800 experts and students are taking part in a two-day IT event here that aims to provide a platform for entrepreneurs and startups, and develop apps for state flagship schemes. The event, DIGIFEST 2017, organised by Rajasthan Information and Technology Department, was kicked off today with ‘Hackathon 2.0’ event where about 800 IT experts, coders and students displayed their innovations, according a release. The participants are set to develop applications on state government flagship schemes like Bhamasha Yojana, E-mitra, Internet offing, blog chain and artificial intelligence and make the presentation of the same within 24 hours. The developers of top three applications would be awarded with a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and Rs 7.50 lakh besides several other consolation prizes for top performers. The participants are working on mobile applications like smart dustbin and parking solution. A team from IIT Roorkee is working on a mobile app that would enable the women to use their Bhamasha cards as debit cards, the release said. Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje is scheduled to address the participants in a session tomorrow.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>A six-member all-women crew of the Indian Navy is set to embark on an eight-month voyage in September to circumnavigate the globe, the first such navigational attempt from Asia. The naval officers led by Lt. Commander Vartika Joshi will set sail in the naval auxiliary vessel INSV Tarini from Goa and are expected to depart early next month. “We will be passing through some of the roughest patches of sea during the voyage. It will be a tough journey but our spirits are high,” Joshi told reporters today. A native of Rishikesh in Uttarakhand, she will skipper, the 55-feet INSV Tarini, built indigenously and inducted in the Indian Navy earlier in February this year. Her team members on-board the sister vessel of INSV Mhadei would be — Lt. Commander Pratibha Jamwal from Kullu, Himachal Pradesh; Lt. Commander Swathi P from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh; Lt. Aishwarya Boddapati from Hyderabad; Lt. Shourgrakpam Vijaya Devi from Manipur and Lt. Payal Gupta from Dehradun. “This all-women circumnavigation attempt would be the first of its kind, not only from India but also Asia. They are well-trained and with their maritime odyssey, they will also set sail into the record books,” Naval Chief of Personnel Vice Admiral A K Chawla said. “They are going to set benchmarks not just for India but for the entire world,” he said. The crew had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday. Jamwal, who had joined the Naval Academy in 2011, said the voyage is daunting but they are all trained and set for it. The expedition — ‘Navika Sagar Parikrama’ will be covered in five legs, with stopovers at four ports — Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands), and Cape Town (South Africa), the Navy said. Capt. (retd) Dilip Donde, the first Indian to undertake a solo circumnavigation, trained the six naval officers, who he said, volunteered to be a part of the expedition. “They will be passing through the Southern Ocean, where the temperature could drop to as low as 4-5 degrees Celsius. Besides, they would also have to navigate through gusty winds and high waves,” Donde said. Joshi said they would be stocking up food supplies, water, books and recreational material, mostly dry items as the voyage span is long. “We will begin with 600 litre of water and we would also have an RO plant on-board. We would carry books and DVDs for recreation,” she said. Asked about the safety measures taken for the crew, Vice Admiral Chawla said, “As per the international maritime convention, the ship’s immediate distress call would be picked up by the nearest search and rescue authority, who would then relay it to us. Also, the vessel is equipped with satellite phones and other modern communication gadgets.” Indian Navy’s Lt. Cdr. Abhilash Tomy, who became the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe, solo and non-stop over a 150-day voyage in 2013, said, “There is no quit word in maritime circumnavigation.” “I think what these six officers are attempting is very courageous. In an mountain expedition, you can stop and climb back, but once you are in the sea, you are in the sea. Only your faith and courage can help sail you through,” he said. INSV Tarini, having a wood core and fibre glass sandwich structure, was built by a shipyard in Goa and the vessel has sailed approximately 8,000 nautical miles till date, the Navy said.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>At least 53 more deaths were today reported from the deluge-battered areas of Assam, Bihar and West Bengal, where swirling floodwaters have paralysed normal life and marooned over 1.20 crore people. The figure of flood casualties mounted to 98 in Bihar, with 26 more people losing their lives. The deluge has affected nearly 93 lakh people in 15 districts, forced postponement of examination and cancellation of trains, officials said. The regional MeT office has forecast rain in southern Bihar for one more week. The Health Department has launched a toll-free number — 104 — officials said, adding hospitals have been directed to maintain a sufficient stock of anti-snake and anti-rabies injections. Araria district accounted for 20 deaths, followed by East Champaran (14), West Champaran (13), Madhepura (12), Sitamarhi (11), Kisanganj (8), Purnea (5), Madhubani (5), Darbhanga (4), Saharsa (3), Sheohar (2) and Supual (1), said Disaster Management Department Principal Secretary Pratyay Amrit. Amrit said 3.59 lakh people have been shifted to safer places. Of them, 2.13 lakh were put up in 504 relief camps. Food packets are being airdropped in inundated areas. Where flood waters have receded, they are being supplied through panchayats. Amrit said 114 boats of the National Disaster Response Force, 92 of the State Disaster Response Force and 70 of the Army have been deployed for relief and rescue works. Principal Secretary, Road Construction, Amrit Lal Meena said 124 roads, including national highways, have been damaged due to floods. Meanwhile, train services continued to be affected. An East Central Railways statement said 39 trains were cancelled as water overtopped tracks. The cancelled trains included 12235 Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani, 12424 New Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani till August 20. Floods claimed 17 more lives in six northern districts of West Bengal, even as the overall situation improved today, officials said. Out of the 17 people, 15 drowned while two others died after they were bitten by snake, a senior disaster management department official said. Forty-nine people have died in flood-related incidents in the districts of Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Coochbehar, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Malda since July 21, the official said. As rains have abated, water has started receding and the situation has improved a lot, he said. Ten more people died due to floods in Assam. Around 31 lakh people across 24 districts are bearing the brunt of the flooding. The toll in the third wave of floods in the state has risen to 49. 133 people have died so far this year in flood- related incidents. According to a report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), three persons died in Dhubri, two in Morigaon and one each in Dhemaji, Sonitpur, Barpeta, South Salmara and Nagaon districts. The ASDMA said 31.55 lakh people are affected at present in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Sonitpur, Udalguri, Darrang, Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Morigaon, Nagaon, Karbi Anglong, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar and Dibrugarh districts. Dhubri is the worst affected with 8.13 lakh people hit. Around 5.30 lakh people have been affected in Morigaon. Currently, 2,584 villages are under water. 1.67 lakh hectares of crop area has been damaged, the ASDMA said. Authorities are running 602 relief camps and distribution centres in 21 districts, where 1,01,035 people are taking shelter. The NDRF, SDRF and district administration personnel have evacuated nearly 3,500 people to safer places.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>A lioness was found dead in “suspicious” circumstances at a remote village in Dhari taluka of Amreli district in Gujarat today, prompting the state forest department to launch a probe, officials said. The carcass of the lioness was found near Lakhapadar village of Dhari district, which is close to the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, said Deputy Conservator of Forest, Gir-East, T Karuppasamy. The death of the feline appears to be suspicious, he said adding, “We have launched a probe from our side to find out how the lioness died.” According to him, the feline might have died after consuming meat laced with pesticide. “Prime facie, it appears that the lioness consumed something that had pesticide content. We have also found a dead goat near the lioness carcass. The probe is still underway,” he added. A census conducted in 2015 has revealed that there are 523 lions in and around the Gir Sanctuary, considered as the last abode of the Asiatic lions. Meanwhile, a video showing three adolescent lions taking a night stroll in Rampara village of Dhari taluka has was doing rounds in social media today. In that video footage captured on CCTV, three lions can be seen strolling around in the village during night. At one point, they can be seen running for their lives after being chased away by a cow. Though it is believed that the lions sneaked in for hunting, Karuppasamy asserted that such activity is common during monsoon, as the lions feel uncomfortable in the forest due to the rise in the number of mosquitoes and other insects. “Lions get irritated due to mosquitoes and other insects during monsoon. Just to get a relief, these lions might have came out of forest and entered the village” he said.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –> The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) personnel on Thursday arrested a Tanzanian and a Nigerian national and seized four kilograms of cocaine worth Rs 40 crores. The Tanzanian woman, identified as Beatrice Kemmy Ndyetabula, was arrested at Indira Gandhi International airport after landing here from Mumbai. On a tip-off by the intelligence department, the NCB personnel were waiting at the airport premise for the arrival of the Tanzanian on Wednesday (August 16). The NCB found two bags with the Ndyetabula, filled with cocaine concealed in 27 ribbon rolls. Kemmy informed that she had travelled to India twice before this and it is the third time that she has come to India with a consignment to deliver to a resident of Delhi?s Dwarka area. The Nigerian national who was also arrested is identified as Augustin.(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>At least 36 more flood- related deaths have been reported from Bihar and Assam, even as over 1.20 crore people have been marooned in the two states.The figure of flood casualties mounted to 98 in Bihar, with 26 more people losing their lives. The deluge has affected nearly 93 lakh people in 15 districts, forced postponement of examination and cancellation of trains, officials said.The regional MeT office has forecast rain in southern Bihar for one more week.The Health Department has launched a toll-free number — 104 — officials said, adding hospitals have been directed to maintain a sufficient stock of anti-snake and anti-rabies injections.Araria district accounted for 20 deaths, followed by East Champaran (14), West Champaran (13), Madhepura (12), Sitamarhi (11), Kisanganj (8), Purnea (5), Madhubani (5), Darbhanga (4), Saharsa (3), Sheohar (2) and Supual (1), said Disaster Management Department Principal Secretary Pratyay Amrit.Amrit said 3.59 lakh people have been shifted to safer places. Of them, 2.13 lakh were put up in 504 relief camps.Food packets are being airdropped in inundated areas. Where flood waters have receded, they are being supplied through panchayats. Flood-affected people, sheltering along a road, wait for food in Motihari district of Bihar on Thursday – PTIAmrit said 114 boats of the National Disaster Response Force, 92 of the State Disaster Response Force and 70 of the Army have been deployed for relief and rescue works.Principal Secretary, Road Construction, Amrit Lal Meena said 124 roads, including national highways, have been damaged due to floods.Meanwhile, train services continued to be affected.An East Central Railways statement said 39 trains were cancelled as water overtopped tracks. The cancelled trains included 12235 Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani, 12424 New Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani till August 20.The floods in Assam claimed 10 more lives. Around 31 lakh people across 24 districts are bearing the brunt of the flooding.The toll in the third wave of floods in the state has risen to 49. 133 people have died so far this year in flood- related incidents.According to a report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), three persons died in Dhubri, two in Morigaon and one each in Dhemaji, Sonitpur, Barpeta, South Salmara and Nagaon districts.The ASDMA said 31.55 lakh people are affected at present in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Sonitpur, Udalguri, Darrang, Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Morigaon, Nagaon, Karbi Anglong, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar and Dibrugarh districts.Dhubri is the worst affected with 8.13 lakh people hit. Around 5.30 lakh people have been affected in Morigaon.A man along with his kid uses a make-shift raft to commute in a flood-hit village in Morigaon district in Assam on Thursday – PTICurrently, 2,584 villages are under water. 1.67 lakh hectares of crop area has been damaged, the ASDMA said.Authorities are running 602 relief camps and distribution centres in 21 districts, where 1,01,035 people are taking shelter.The NDRF, SDRF and district administration personnel have evacuated nearly 3,500 people to safer places.The flood has damaged embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructures in Udalguri, Barpeta, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Nagaon, Golaghat, Lakhimpur, Dhubri, Morigaon, Jorhat and Majuli.Currently, the Brahmaputra river is flowing above the danger mark at Guwahati, Nimatighat in Jorhat, Tezpur in Sonitpur, Goalpara and Dhubri.Meanwhile, Assam’s Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal chaired a high-level meeting where the talk of dredging of the Brahmaputra river was discussed. The officials said that the dredging of the river will start soon as a move to find a permanent solution to the perennial flood problem in Assam.”In course of the meeting, it has been decided to start the dredging of the Brahmaputra from Sadiya from September onwards and as many as five dredgers will be pressed into service for the mega project,” a state government statement said.The floods in Assam claimed 10 more lives. Around 31 lakh people across 24 districts are bearing the brunt of the flooding.The toll in the third wave of floods in the state has risen to 49. 133 people have died so far this year in flood- related incidents.Today’s meeting took up the construction of Brahmaputra Expressway threadbare and decided to rope in experts and manpower of Border Roads Organisation to build the expressway with the sand and silt dug-out through dredging.The Assam government will submit the detailed project report for Brahmaputra Expressway soon. Chief Minister Sonowal requested the Brahmaputra Board to set up a unit in Majuli and upscale its manpower to tackle flood in the island as well as in the state.In the meeting, the Director General of Brahmaputra Board informed that the Board decided to start three major projects upstream to protect the river island Majuli from the fury of flood.He also informed that a Rs 237-crore road-cum-embankment project would soon be started in the southern bank of Majuli which would help check flood-induced damages in the river island.The meeting was held as a sequel to the announcement of Prime Minister’s Rs 2,000 crore package for Assam and the Northeast for relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and flood mitigation measures.The package includes Rs 400 crore for improving water carrying capacity of the Brahmaputra through dredging in its entire stretch from Sadiya to Dhubri.Sonowal said the proposed dredging besides enhancing the water holding capacity of the Brahmaputra would help in increasing navigation besides revamping the communication on the proposed Brahmaputra Express Highway.The chief minister also asked the central government to take up the repairing work of the National Highways in view of the deplorable road conditions.

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>The powerful Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) comprising chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Indian Air Force today reviewed the security preparedness of the three services including along the Sino-India border, official sources said. The standoff between armies of India and China in Dokalam and attempts by Chinese troops on Tuesday to enter the Indian territory along the banks of Pangong lake in Ladakh were also discussed at the meeting, they said. “Issues relating to the country’s external security as well as situation along the borders were discussed,” a source said. The meeting came two days after Indian border guards foiled an attempt by Chinese soldiers to enter Indian territory along the banks of Pangong lake. Soldiers of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) tried to enter the Indian side in two areas– Finger Four and Finger Five– twice between. But on both the occasions their attempts were thwarted by alert Indian troops. Personnel from both sides received minor injuries and the situation was brought under control after the customary banner drill under which both sides hold banners before stepping back to their respective positions. The incident was discussed at a flag meeting between the two sides at Leh’s Chusul sector yesterday. The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a bitter face-off at Dokalam in India-China-Bhutan tri-junction for little over two months. China has been ramping up rhetoric against India, demanding immediate withdrawal of Indian troops from Dokalam. The Chinese state media, particularly, has carried a barrage of critical articles on the Dokalam stand-off slamming India. In the face of heightened rhetoric by Beijing, India has poured in more troops along the entire stretch of its border with China in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. The “caution level” among the troops has also been raised, according to officials. The decision to increase the deployment along the nearly 1,400-km Sino-India border from Sikkim to Arunachal Pradesh was taken after carrying out a detailed analysis of the situation and considering China’s aggressive posturing against India on Dokalam, the officials had told(This article has not been edited by DNA’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)